Cotton harvesting and cleaning machine.



l. MELER l l. WALLACE. COTTON HAHVESTLNG AND CLEANHJG MACHLNE.

APPLmATeoN mm 001s. m16.

Lwmv, Pamtedsept. 11, um,

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I. NIEIER & I. WALLACE. COTTON HANVESTING ANB CLEANING MACHINE.

"APPLICATION FILED OCT. 3. 1915.

Patenwd Sepia 1I, 191'?.

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Application filed #October f5, '.lQlG.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, JOHN Minna and JAMES F. ALLACE, citizens of the`United States, residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State ofTexas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in CottonHarvesting and Cleaning lvlachines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to cotton harvesting and cleaning machines, andhas for its object improvements in the machine heretofore patented toJohn Meier, No. l,032,560, dated July 16, 1912, wherein devices areemployed which the attendants present to the cotton plants to receiveorgather either the open or boll cotton therefrom, whence it is conveyedby pneumatic action 'to a. common receptacle. The said prior inventionfurther consists in arranging the gathering devices referred to so that,in a measure, several at tendants may he enabled to carry out thepicking or gathering operations together or simultaneously. The presentinvention cmbodies similar but improved harvesting means and deliversthe ,seed cotton. also bcllcotton into a separating and cleaning devicecarried along by thev machine, where the hulls, husks, pods or otherforeign matter, as the bells, &c., are gathered, are at once separated'from the cotton.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine which isespecially adapted, When drawn along the rows of growingI plants, togather the seed cotton that is easily separated from the hulls, or thatmay be on theground, and also to pick the said matured holls from theplants, crush the holls and separate the cotton therefrom, the agenciesemployed in performing these functions of the present invention beinghoth pneumatic and mechanical.

After the first heavy frost in the fall, there is, as al general thing avast amount of 1ooll cotton in matured condition remaining; on thestalks in the ields. These bells at this time of. the year losetheiropening power on account of becoming frozen; they have .a goedquality of cotton on their interior and it is, as a further object ofthis evice to provide a machine by which all of the said remaining hollsmay he quickly har vested, and as so gathered, the seed cotton extractedfrom them and rendered in a proper condition to he ginned.

An embodiment of this invention. is disclosed in the structureillustrated in the ac- Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. sei-iai no. 123,495.

companying drawings, wherein like characters of reference indicatecorrespox'iding partsin all the views, and in which, Figure l is a sideelevation of a mechanism con structed in accordance with our invention;Fig. is a plan view of the sann; lig. 3 is an end view of Fig. l; Fig. dis an enlarged detail, partly in section of a picker nozzle;l

and Fig. 5 is an end view of the same. Referring' more particularly tothe drawings, the various hired instrumentalities here in described aremounted upon a vehicleplatform l supported by wheels 2 which are adaptedto straddle either one or two rows of cotton according to the capacityoit the machine, the wheels traveling between the rows. The vehicle maybe drawn along; the cotton rows hy means oit horse power or it ina-y bepropelled mechanically so that they provide means :for securinga slowintermittent advance. i

rl. suitable prime motor 3, preferably a gasolene engine as shown ismounted upon the platform 1. Said engine has a drive pulley Il, and abelt 5 forms the connection between it and a suction fan pulley 6, andhy which the fan 7 located centrally' on the platform l is driven. Tothe side of the fan l' is connected an inlet conduit 8 that extendsupwardly and rearwardly therefrom, lerminating in a downward curve 9that .is conneeted at 10 to the upper portion ll oil a cottonextracting?,f and cleaning device l2. Secured within the portion l1 andentendu ing transversely across the sameis a curved fle'liectorv 13 and'the conduit eend 9 opens centrally beneath its concave portion as shownin Fig. l. A conduit ll connects with 'the chamher 1l ahove thedetleetor 13 and entends a short distance rearwardly and is thenprovided with an elbow making a quarter turn downward where it connectswith a. horizontal. conduit section l5 disposed transverse with respectto the vehicle at either side thereoi` and is secured to the portion 1lhy braces 16. At coth ends of the section l5 are extended somewhatreduced sections 17 as shown,y and two other similar extensions may beadded to each end mal-:ing four on each side inthe case o'l1 machines oflarge gathering capacity. Connected to each of these gradually reducedsections l5 and 17, tlc., are pendent liexihle pipes or tubes 1liarranged in positions lying` between the rows olf cotton plants as shownin Fig. Upon the lower extremity oil caen.

pipe i8 a, suction cup or nozzle is seemed, .as is clearly shown inFigs. et and and oomprises u l'ght metallic tube 19 pro ided et one ofits sides with n. suitable handle 20. 'The free endof the tube liz/isfoi-ined thereon :in enlarged head or chamber 2i, the open end oit whichforms the entrance to the sue- 'tion Cup and is provided with :iperipheral, outwztrdly'- extending iin/nge 2, dished :is shown endprovided. with serew receiving apertures. Coi'respondingly dishedsemieirciiler knives hnvin elongated slots therein, ere adapted, Wheplaced together to have a diameter less thun the diameter of the tlenge22. Screws Ql. :ire passed. 'through the slots in 'the knives and engagethe threaded holes in the'lhtnge und serve to securely hold the knivesinproper position upon the device. The circular cutting edge of. theknives extends entirely around the en trance of the cup and serves ns.fi means whereby the operator, in picking: the cotton, een, after tueCup' is placed over n cotton. hell, out the boil Jfrom th stein hyimparting e lateral inovenieiit to the hemd.

The several picking nozzles on each side ol? the inaehine are eachhandled h v en uttendzint who yapplies them in his ('sei'etion to suchof the cotton-boils es are ready for f poking, thus causing most of thelioils to he pulled .trom'tlieir stems and 'drziefn into the pipes hysuction due to the fen. lne-ese this suction alone is not suflieient toremove seine of the. holls troni the stems, "ie operator in moving nnozzle from dne hollfto another in any direction will cause 'the hellthen held within it by the suction, to hl clipped hy the knife 'thusmaking it possible to rap i i' get-her :ill of the matured cotton es thee i l`line slowly moves forward to new posil is. A holt 2G driven hy u.pulley 2T seemed to theengine shaft and imparts me# to e( vdefv'iceindicated hv l* 'tot' reniov- ',he hnllsnnd trnsh :trein the cottongoth- 'reii in thefoolls. and seid device inny be the Well known ty e,with the on o1 ine uit* inlets und el is es herein.

e ooeretion of our invention is es Yfol-- vehicle .is Caused tostrznldle t; ww ol Cotton, und the interni conduits 'l' n the number olfconduit sections. "lie een erich row Covered by the eonduits en dent weks, one for each suction tuts` 'with rapidity :ind convenience nts e,picker-nozzle to the boils :is they felled in succession, picking theCotton opposite sides adjacent rows. The from the pod, or with the 1 Oliet; eet-ten melted n extend moss .several rows, dependin.g-

medelepod hy the picking nozzle is carried through the tubes 'by thestrong snetional blastand into the reeeptnele or separator l1 Where -itis seperated .troni the suotionel blast and drops into :t olezn'iingIdevice l2 disposed beneath and in Communication with seid re eepteelewhich separates the Cotton from the boils, the current oi nir continuingaround the delieetor and out through the conduit S und thence tlnoughthe fen exit QS, part of its passage heine' indicated hy the darts'. hegor seek 29 is adepte' te receive the seed eoton thus extracted, which isdelivered ley the machine in condition to he ginned. The cotton husks orpods may he dropped from the bottom of the separator l2 as removed fromthe cotton or they may be carried from seid bottoni by suction throughthe pipe 30 und discharged tlnfough the fen exit ille have shown what isbelieved to he 'the preferable 1forni oi our invention, t will heolivi-ous that iimdilientions might he made, pnrtieulnrly in theCrnsl'iing; and el ening meel unis-ms, the sume being of course adeptedto he gufcoinpiished in different Ways which will he obvious toskilled,mechanics.

Having thus set forth the object and nature o ouil invention and forniof tippe rntus embodying the seine and having described theConstruction, function, end 'inode of operation thereof, what we. eleiinas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is# A l. .Si cottonharvesting machine, comprising, in combination, :t pneumatic eottoi'isep- :unting easing, u. Curved deleetor Within. the easing, :in exhaustConduit openingT into the easing above the deflect-or and connected withe series of cotton picking nozzles, en

i exhaust conduit opening into the easing loenenth 'the curvedycle/Hector and connected tvith n n exhausting device, substantially asdescribed;

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2. A. cotton harvesting meehine, eoinprislll)

